Hyderabad: The speed with which the Central government swung into action to placate rising tempers among the wrestlers by suspending the newly elected governing body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has come along expected lines coming as it did just a few months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The question remains unanswered as to why there was such a swift action this time from the Centre unlike their response during the wrestlers' protest earlier this year where the centre tested the patience of the grapplers, even forcing them to go on heart-breaking street protests. While the wrestlers' row was dormant for some time now, the recent election of Sanjay Singh, a close-aide of former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the new WFI president triggered a sharp response from the grapplers, with Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik quitting the game and Bajrang Punia returning his Padma Shri, country's fourth highest civilian honour.
Amidst this, the electoral arithmetic behind the Centre's decision on the WFI body suspension became a hot topic of discussion among political circles all over the country. Most of the top wrestlers happened to be hailing from the numerically strong Jat community in the Hindi heartland. As per some estimates, the Jat voters play a decisive factor in over 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
The sudden flare-up over the WFI new body undoubtedly gave a sudden jolt to the ruling BJP at the Centre. That too, at a time when the saffron brigade is solely counting on a sweep in the Hindi heartland states for Narendra Modi to seek a successful third consecutive term as the country's prime minister in 2024. This is largely because of the BJP's dwindling numbers in the southern and eastern states.